Milling machine



Dec. 12, 1933. w, D ARCHEA' 1,938,771

MILLING MACHINE Filed Dec. 9, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet l dnn,

Dec. 12, 1933.

W. D. ARCHEA MILLING MACHINE Filed Dec. 9., 1929 26 r Tg:- 5 56 26 f 46 28 Q @Y Il @LDL 47 I (.'J Q

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' 3 sheets-sheet 2 W. D. ARCHEA MILLING MACHINE Dec. l2, 1933.

Filed Deo. 9. 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Dec. 12, 1933 UNITED STATES I PATENTi OFFICE MILLING MACHINE Application December 9, 1929. Serial No. 412,708

1g claims.

This invention relates tomilling machines and more particularly to improvements. in work holding fixtures for the same.

In an effort to speed up production, milling machines have in the past been equipped with work holding fixtures of the multiple type, so that a plurality of work pieces might have the same operation performed upon them simultaneously, and it is an object of this invention 1Q to provide a new and improved type of Work holding fixture, to accomplish this purpose.

Another object lof this invention is the provision of an improved uid operated fixture in which the Work pieces may be clamped and automatically released therefrom.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an improved and more eflicient fixture for holding groups of work pieces on each side of a cutter spindle, for successive operation thereupon by the cutting tools.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention should bereadily apparent by refer- Vence to the following specication, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings illustrative of one embodiment thereof, but it will be understood that I may make any modification in the speciiic structural details hereinafter disclosed, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from or exceeding the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate like parts:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a milling machine;

` Figure 2 is a side elevation of the machine;

Figure 3 is a vertical setion taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 4;

Figure 4 is an end elevation of the work fixture shown in Figure 3; Figure 5 is an end elevation of the work fix ture shown in Figure 6;

Figure 6 is a vertical section taken on the line 6 6 of Figure 5;

Figure 'l is a sectional plan view taken on the line '1 7 of Figure 3; 1\

Figure 8 is a plan view of a Work piece finished in this machine; v

Figure 9 is a section on the'line 9 9 of Figure 8; Figure 10 is a detailview of the valve lever operating dog therefor;l and Figure 1l is a modified form valve lever and dog shown in Figure l0. f

In the drawings, the numeral 10 designates the bed of a milling machine having a rotatable and cutter spindle 11 and a reciprocating table 12 carried thereby. The cutter spindle 11, being mounted in the slide 13, is vertically adjustable with respect to the table. The table is reciprocated by hydraulic means represented generally by the cylinder 14 in Figure 1.

There is provided on the table 12, two fixtures 15 and 16 which are mounted so as to be on opposite sides of the cutter spindle 11. This arrangement allows the Work in one fixture to be operated upon by the cutter, While the finished work in the other fixture is being replaced by unfinished work pieces. When the unfinished Work pieces have been inserted in one of the fixtures, the operator turns a handle 17 of a 70 valve mounted on the front of the table, which admits fluid pressure to the xture to clamp the work therein. The work is released automatically by the dog 18 which is mounted upon a fixed part of the bed. Referring to Figure 10, the plunger dog 18 is slidably mounted in the housing 75 having the spring 76 located in the bottom thereof to maintain the dog 18 in a raised position. A pin 77 in the housing engages a slot '18 in the dog to keep it from coming out by the so action of the spring. The dog has a straight face 79, for engaging the face 80 of the valve lever to trip the same, and an inclined face 81 which is engaged byY the end of the valve lever when traveling to the right, as shown in Figure 10, to 85 depress the dog and ride lover it, the valve lever having previously been turnedto this position by the operator.

Automatic operation of the lever in both directions may be effected by a modified construction such as shown in Figure 11. In this instance, the valve lever 17' has a slot 82 in the end thereof, for engagement with the roller 83 in the end of the plunger dog 18', the action being similar to a Geneva motion. With this construction the lever will be tripped each time it passes the dog. A spring 76 is provided under the plunger 18', similar to the spring 76, so that in case the operator should turn the lever himself, without waiting for the automatic operation by the machine, the lever 17 will press down the dog and ride over it, similar to the operation of the dog 18. It is thus seen that the machine is so arranged that upon the return of one fixture to a loading position, the other fixture is advancing to a cutting position. It will also be noted that as one fixture returns to a loading position, the fluid pressure in that fixture is automatically released, thus permitting the operator to remove the finished work pieces immediately from the fixture and replace them with unfinished pieces. The handle 17 being manually operated, permits of clamping the work into position as soon as the fixture is loaded, without waiting upon a machine cycle to automatically clamp them, although it is understood, of course, that the dog 18 would automatically effect clamping if so desired.

There is also provided coolant supply pipes 20 and 21 for each fixture, each pipe having individual control valves 22 and 23 respectively.

The fixture 15, which is mounted on the righthand part of the table as shown in Figure 1, will now be described. Referring to Figure 3, the fixture consists of a housing 24 having mounted on one end thereof a platen 25. Attached to the face of the platen are two members 26 which have beveled faces forming a V. This V acts to position and center the ,work piece with respect to a cutter 'and also acts as a positive means to prevent movement of the work vertically, which would be caused by the tangential force of the cutter during engagement with the work.

In order to insure that the work piece is firmly positioned in the V, a member 27 is provided which is pivoted in the housing 24 directly below the platen 25 and provided with two fingers 28 which engage the forks 29 of the work piece 30 to force the same firmly into the V. The member 27 is also provided with a bore 31 in which is mounted a spring pressed pin 32 which bears against a cross plate 33 fixed on the housing to maintain the member 27 in an open position to receive work. This pivoting movement caused by the spring 34 is limited, however, by the plunger 36 which engages the lower end of the member 27.

The plunger 36 is slidably mounted in an inclined bore 37 provided in the lower part of the housing 24, and is composed of two parts 38 and 39. The part 38 has a reduced portion 40 slidable in a bore 41 of the member 39 and the bore 41 is provided with a spring which tends to separate the two parts. A pin 42, however, is provided in the end of the member 38 which rides in an elongated slot 43 of the member 39 to l prevent separation of the parts.

The plunger 36 is positively moved by the bell crank 44 pivoted on a pin 45 mounted in the housing, to pivot the member 27 clockwise against the action of the spring 31 to center the work, and after the work piece has been centered in the V, a slight additional pressure may be brought to bear by the compression of the spring in the plunger 36. The yielding connection between the two parts of the plunger 36 provides a compensating means for any variation in the size of the work pieces and insures that they are properly centered before being clamped.

After the work has been positioned on the platen, clamping members 46, 47 and 48 are provided, for firmly clamping the work piece against the face of the platen. The members 46 and 47 are arranged on opposite sides of a work piece and are provided with grooves 48' near the end thereof, forming in efiect, hooks which engage the flange of the work piece 30, to therebyl clamp it against the platen. The members 46 and 47 are simultaneously operated by the bell crank 44. To this end, they are each provided with a groove 50, into which fits a lug 51, the lug being integral with the member 44. A spring 52 is provided, which tends to move the bell crank 44 in a counter-clockwise direction, and this also `keeps the members 46 and 47 in an open position to receive a work piece.

The other clamping member 48 is pivoted about a pin 53 by means of the plunger 54 against the tension of the spring 55. The member 48 is provided, at its lower end, with fingers 56, for engaging the flange of a work piece and firmly clamping it against the face of the platen 25.

Bell crank 44 and the plunger 54 are simultaneously operated by the cam member 56 which is journaled on the pin 57 carried in the forked end 58 of the piston rod 59. 'Ihe cam member 56 has the sharply inclined faces 82 and 83, for rapidly moving the members 44 and 54 respectively to clamping position and the slightly inclined faces 84 and 85, acting through the members 44 and 54 respectively, to apply pressure to the clamps to firmly hold the work in place. The other end of the piston rod has the piston 60 attached thereto and slidably mounted in the cylinder 61, which is provided with pipes 62 and 63 for supplying pressure to either side of the piston 61, to thereby clamp or unclamp a work piece in the fixture. The pipes 62 and 63 are connected with a valve, which is controlled by the handle 17, as previously explained. This valve is connected with a suitable outside source of pressure, not shown.

Fixture 16, which is mounted on the lefthand part of the work table as shown in Figure 1, is of similar construction as the fixture 15, with the exception that @the V is formed in the lower part of the platen rather than on the upper part. This is for the reason that a cutter rotating in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 1 will 110 tend, in the case of fixture 15, to force the work piece upward, while in the case of fixture 16 it will tend to forcel the work piece downward. Therefore, in fixture 16 the V is provided at the bottom and means for forcing the work into the 115 V is provided at the top. Referring to Figure 5, platen 64 has two strips 65 set in its face so as to be flush therewith and having raised portions 66 at the lower end thereof which form, in effect,

i a V which positions and centers a work piece with respect to the cutter. The means to initially position the work in this V takes the form of a pivoted member 67 having fingers 68 for engaging the forks 29 of the work piece. Member 67 is mounted on top of the clamping member 48 125 and is provided with a. bore 69 in which is held a spring 70 under compression by the screw 71 threaded in the member 48. It is thus seen that the spring 70 tends to move the member 67 about its pivot 72 and cause the fingers 68 to engage the 130 work piece and yieldably force it into the V.

Fixture 16 is also provided with three clamping members operated simultaneously by a uid actuated piston, the same as for the other fixture, and the description need not be repeated here.

The description of the two work holding fixtures has been confined to the mechanism necessary to clamp a single work piece but of course it is understood that any number of either type of fixture may be placed side by side and simulta- 140 neously operated, and I have shown in this machine three such fixtures, although, of course, any number might be used without departing from the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a milling machine having a bed, a cutter spindle and work table mounted upon the bed for relative movement with respect to each other, a cutter adapted to be rotated by said spindle work holders carried by the table, one on each sido 3. In a device of the class described a Work supporting platen, yieldable positioning means and positive clamping means for co-operating with the said platen to hold a work piece, and a uid pressure actuated member for simultaneously operating both of said means.

4. In a device of the class described a Work supporting platen, a yieldable positioning member and a. plurality of clamping members forcooperating with the said platen to hold a Work piece, and fluid actuated means including a pis- Aton and cylinder, one of which is operatively connected to all of said members for effecting simultaneous operation thereof.

5. In a device of the class described a work supporting platen, a positioning member, a pair of reciprocable clamping members and a pivoted clamping member, said members co-operating with said platen to hold a work piece, and fluid means for simultaneously actuating all of said members.

6. A work holder comprising a housing having an inclined platen on one end thereof, work centering means for co-operation with said platen and a yieldable plunger for actuating the centering means, a pair of reciprocable clamping members, a bell crank for operating s aid plunger and said members, a pivoted clamping member and operating plunger therefor mounted on the top of the housing, a cylinder on the rear of the housing having a piston slidable therein, said piston having a wedge cam for actuating said bell crank and operating plunger to thereby center and clamp a work piece on said platen.

'7. A milling machine having a support, a work table slidable on the support, a resiliently mounted tripping dog on said support, a control valve carried by said table, an operating lever therefor having upon reciprocation of the table in a given direction an operating position and a nonoperating position, means thereon to engage the tripping dog when in the operative position, and means thereon to depress the dog and ride over it when in an inoperative position.

8. A work holder comprising a housing, means to clamp a work piece to said housing comprising a pivoted clamp and operating plunger therefor, a pair of slidable clamping members and an operating bell crank therefor, an actuating` cam for said plunger and bell crank having a pair of sharply inclined faces for rapidly actuating said members to clamping position, and a pair of slightly inclined faces for exerting a pressure on said members after the work is clamped.

9. A Work holder comprising a housing, means to clamp a work piece to said housing comprising a plurality of clamping members, a plunger and a bell crank for operating different of said members, `an actuating cam for said plunger and bell crank, cam operating means connected thereto by a pivot, said pivot acting as an equalizer whereby equal pressure will be exerted on said plunger and bell crank.

10. In a milling machine having a bed, a cutter spindle carried thereby, a cutter mounted in the spindle for rotation thereby, a table mounted on the bed for reciprocation relative to the cutter, a work holder attached to each end of the table whereby alternate movements of the table will simultaneously move one work holder toward the cutter and the other work holder away from the cutter, fluid pressure actuated clamps in each work holder, independent valve control means for the clamps of each holder carried by the table, and means on the bed for alternately operating said valve control means whereby upon movement of either work holder toward the cutter the clamps of the other work holder will be released.

1l. A milling machine having a rotating cutter, a table, work holders upon opposite ends of the table, means to reciprocate the table to present alternately the work holders to the cutters, fluid pressure actuated means in each work holder for securing the work therein, individual control valves for each of said pressure actuated means, individual manual control levers for moving each valve to a work clamping position, plunger dogs adjacent said levers, resilient means for maintaining said dogs in an operative position, said dogs being effective upon movement of the table in either direction to automatically actuate the levers of said control valves to release work from the receding holder and to clamp work in the holder approaching the cutter, and means on said levers for depressing the respective dog against the pressure of said resilient means when the lever has been manually actuated prior to engagement with the dog.

12. A milling machine having a rotating cutter, a reciprocating table, a work holder mounted on the table, uid pressure actuated means for securing work in the holder, a control valve for said means, an operating lever for the valve, a plunger dog engageable with said lever upon movement of the work holder toward the cutter to effect clamping of the Work and engageable with 130 said lever upon movement of the holder away from the cutter to effect unclamping of the work, said lever being manually actuable to a `work clamping position, and means on the lever to depress the dog and thereby ride over the same when the lever has been manually positioned prior to dog engagement.

WALTER D. ARCHEA. 

